-
Targeted selective supplementation for goat parasite control
Targeted selective supplementation with local plants cut anthelmintic use by 54 percent on Malawi goat smallholdings without hurting growth or kidding outcomes. Farmers scored each goat every two weeks with the Five Point Check and fed 250 g of Commiphora africana, Ficus ingens, or Gmelina arborea per day for five days only to borderline or sick animals. Sick goats still received albendazole, and the combination cleared parasites faster than the drug alone. Why gastrointestinal nematodes hit smallholder goats so hard Stomach and intestinal worms, known as gastrointestinal nematodes or GINs, are the largest parasitic drain on small ruminant production, and smallholder goat farming carries the worst of it. They do…
-
Meloxicam for newborn calves: dose at birth, not surgery
Meloxicam for newborn calves is a postnatal adaptation treatment, not a surgical analgesic. In a 151-calf placebo-controlled trial, one subcutaneous dose of 0.5 mg/kg given within minutes of delivery produced higher vitality scores at 24 and 48 hours, with the gain concentrated in calves born with obstetric assistance. It did not correct perinatal acidosis. Why meloxicam is filed under the wrong job Most farms keep meloxicam wherever the disbudding iron lives. Castration, dehorning, lameness, anything that happens in a chute: the drug goes on the list, and in many markets the label reads the same way. That placement is a habit, not a pharmacology. Parturition is an inflammatory event in…
